Engagement, Inspiration, and Impact: Jabebo in the Community
OCT 19, 2024 Bellefonte YMCA- FALL FESTIVAL
Jabebo joined the community in participating in the YMCA Fall Fest. To celebrate and educate about the upcoming Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos- also known as Day of the Dead- Jabebo brought sugar skulls (calaveras de azucar) for everyone to decorate.
Alongside this fun and engaging activity were Jabebo Sugar Skull earrings and Monarch Butterfly earrings, as well as informational signs about the holiday, colorful decorations, and strands of Cempasuchil (Mexican Marigolds) set up in the style of an Ofrenda.
During Day of the Dead, celebrated November 1st into November 2nd, family members will put photos of their loved ones on an ofrenda alongside food or drink that their loved ones would have enjoyed. They might also have sugar skulls, Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead), and candles. The graves of the deceased loved ones are cleaned and decorated as well. The marigolds are a way to guide the ancestors home.
During this time of year, the monarch butterflies that have departed from the USA finally make their way to Mexico, symbolic of the return of the spirits of the ancestors.
June 3 — What a spectacular day at the 48th Annual Bellefonte Children’s fair!
We were lucky to secure a spot next to Tropical Sno, Rosie’s Perogies, and the bounce house castle. The glorious weather yielded a great and happy crowd, including some of Tomalei’s new and old neighbors.
Tomalei managed to catch a whale, and later shared a watermelon Gatorade with him. We even got to meet the Queen – the Grange Fair Queen that is. Ella Smith taught us how the queen is selected and shared some of her queenly duties. In turn, we taught her about our art and how to make a paper pulp starfish.
We had a great time with show and tell, teaching children, parents, volunteers and vendors about how our art is a great representation of how communities can engage in both upcycling and recycling. We were very popular, with children lining up to try the blender bicycle and a packed tent of starfish makers and painters. I think we were neck and neck with the bouncy house castle, which is surely a terrific feat!
Perhaps our other tent neighbors, Mount Nittany Health, were impressed by our constant healthy pedaling? We were very interested in their healthy living corn hole game and their crew of volunteers. We visited the Duck Pond and Fishing games to gather water for making pulp, to help some kids wash their paint-covered hands, and to take in all of the festivities as we walked.
Many thanks to the local Rotary club for this wonderful event! We will definitely participate again next year!
April was busy with community engagement and travel!
April 12 – Sexual Assault and Prevention Month Event (Penn State, University Park)
With our colleagues from the Penn State Gender Equity Center and the Peace Paper Project, we enthusiastically engaged students, faculty, and other adult learners at our first Penn State event. As a part of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM), this special event highlighted the transformational power of art through paper-making and recycling material that would otherwise be discarded as waste.
Drew Matott founded the Peace Paper Project in collaboration with the art therapy community to run papermaking programs that help individuals around the globe overcome their traumatic experiences around the globe.
Students asked lots of questions about recycling, art as part of “social good”, and how to make the best paper pulp starfish 🙂 Who knew college students were so into painting and trying out our pedal-powered, paper pulp-making blender?*!
April 22 – ZooAmercia (Hershey, PA)
Jabebo celebrated Earth Day with our friends, colleagues, and excited visitors at ZooAmerica in Hershey, PA. We joined ZooAmerica’s Party for the Planet, sharing tales of cereal box recycling for our biodiversity-focused earrings and paper pulp figures.
Guests at our booth were thrilled by the ride on our special bicycle, using pedal-power to run a blender that chopped up and recycled cereal boxes into paper pulp right before their very eyes.
More fun followed as our guests created planet-friendly art from the paper pulp – molding and painting of starfish, paws, and fancy fishes!
April 29 – REEF.org First Arts and Science Festival (Key Largo, FL)
Citizen scientists engage with REEF snorkel and scuba dive around the world, surveying marine environments. With a remarkable total of 250,000+ surveys conducted at over 15,000 locations by more than 16,00 volunteers over 3 decades, REEF’s database of marine life is one of the largest in the world! *Stoplight Parrotfish”
Kevin, an avid fish geek and surveyor, helped make REEF’s first festival a big splash for kids of all ages who made and painted paper pulp starfish with us, perused the biodiversity in our earrings, and appreciated our fish ornaments! We were really pleased with the enthusiastic reception of the activity and that we contributed to educating locals about the reef watershed in which they live and do business. Jabebo sells earrings to a number of locations in South Florida and so we try to stop in as many as we can during our trips. After a quick survey of fishes offshore, Kevin’s journey continued, mixing business with the search for inspiration for Jabebo’s art. After an overnight at Bahia Honda State Park, which included snorkeling, strolling and observing wildlife, Kevin paid a visit to Crane Hammock in Marathon, MacArthur State Park, and the Hobe Sound Nature Center.
